Freed Dad Begins Life On The Outside

Alan Yurko slept in Saturday, a luxury he hasn't enjoyed for more than six years.

"When I woke up, it was a little scary," he said. "I didn't know where I was."

But Yurko knew where he wasn't -- behind bars.

That's because Yurko was given his freedom Friday when Circuit Judge C. Alan Lawson granted his motion for a new trial and then accepted a plea agreement that gave Yurko a sentence equal to the time he had served.

Lawson's decision and the prosecution's plea offer stemmed from what the judge ruled was a deeply flawed autopsy conducted by former Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner Shashi Gore.

Yet, Yurko's decision to plead no contest to manslaughter in the death of his infant son was not an easy one.

Yurko said Saturday he "cried like a baby" when the plea offer was made. "I didn't want to do it."

Francine Yurko was brought to her husband's holding cell at the Orange County Courthouse to discuss it, and she cried too.

"If we wanted to plead out, we would have done that the first time around," she said Saturday. "We had several offers."

It took the couple an hour to decide that the plea bargain was the best route to go. The 1999 conviction for shaking his baby to death had resulted in a life sentence. Even with the judge's decision to overturn the conviction, Yurko might have had to spend two or three more years in prison before he got a new trial, he said. The couple concluded that was too long to wait for the chance he might be exonerated.

And with the judge willing to sentence him to time served -- six years, 125 days -- Yurko knew he could be out of jail Friday night.

The fact he was pleading no contest to manslaughter, rather than murder, also figured into the couple's decision, he said.

Yurko denies shaking the 10-week-old child and blames the baby's death on his poor health, improper administration of vaccines and poor medical care after he was hospitalized.

In his role as a parent, Yurko said, he should have been more involved in the health care of his son. "I accept the culpable negligence of that," he said.

Gore's autopsy concluded that the infant died after being shaken. But his report was so rife with errors that, after reviewing the case, the State Medical Examiners Commission barred Gore from conducting autopsies. Gore has since retired.

Yurko's lead attorney, Mary Beth Fitzgibbons, along with doctors who support his claims, friends and family filled the couple's mobile home Saturday afternoon.

Seven years ago, Yurko and Francine came to Florida because her stepfather, Joseph Giardi, had been told by doctors he had just six months to live. That was seven years ago, and he is still alive.

After Yurko was jailed, his wife moved into a mobile home next to where her stepfather and her mother, Florence Giardi, live.

"Last night at midnight is the first time I ever set foot in this house," he said. "It's bigger than my cell."

Just being able to open the door and walk outside anytime he wants to is a treat, as is being able to pick up the phone and talk anytime. "I hadn't heard a phone ring in seven years," he said.

Most recently, Yurko was imprisoned at the Century Correctional Facility in the Florida Panhandle. That was a 16-hour round trip for Francine Yurko. They were allowed a little kiss at the beginning of each visit, a little kiss at the end and a brief hug.

Yurko calls his wife his biggest supporter. They were married in April 2000 on the first anniversary of the day he was sentenced.

What sticks in Yurko's mind the most, he said, is the stark contrast between the day he was sentenced and Friday's announcement in court that he would soon be free.

At the sentencing, Francine Yurko was his only support in the courtroom. The only sound was her gasping when he was sentenced to life in prison. On Friday, there was a "Super Bowl-size cheer" from dozens of supporters.

When he walked out of jail later that night with cameras rolling, "I guess it's like you feel when you win the Oscar," he said. "When I walked out the door, I said, `My God, I'm not going to die in prison.' "

Since his release, Yurko has been on a steady diet of french fries -- a treat he missed in prison. He ate them for dinner Friday night and again for breakfast Saturday.

Yurko hasn't thought about a job yet. He worked with his father, a contractor, before moving to Florida, but was arrested in his son's 1997 death before he found work in this state.

One of the first things Yurko has to do is shop. The only things he had to wear Saturday were a "Free Alan Yurko" T-shirt and a pair of his wife's shorts. His new clothes can be any color except "prison blue," he said.

Among his supporters, Yurko is a bit of a celebrity. "I'm enjoying all the attention," he admits. But he also knows it won't last forever. "In a couple of weeks, I'll be in trouble if I don't put the toilet seat down."